System, methods, and program product to trace content genealogy

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of systems, program products, and methods to manage content and distribution of media are provided. An embodiment of a system, for example, can include a communication network for transmitting media files, a content management server having a processor and memory coupled to the processor, a database accessible to the processor of the content management server and including media files associated with metadata records, a plurality of content management developer computers to provide content management developers with online access over the communication network to the media files and associated metadata records to thereby edit the metadata records, a plurality of user computers accessible to the communication network to provide the users with access to the media files over the communication network to thereby view and edit at least portions of respective metadata records. The system also includes content management program product stored in the memory of the content management server to manage content and distribution of media.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/305,871, Filed Dec. 16, 2005, entitled SYSTEM, METHODS, AND PROGRAMPRODUCT TO TRACE CONTENT GENEALOGY, which claims priority and benefit toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/712,051, now U.S. Pat. No.9,626,366, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.This invention also is related to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/711,699, by Bugir et al, titled “System, Program Product, andMethods to Enhance Media Content Management,” filed on Aug. 26, 2005,incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/711,700, by Bugir, et al, titled “System,Methods, and Program Product To Trace Content Genealogy” filed on Aug.26, 2005, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/712,052, by Bugiret al, titled “System, Program Product, and Methods to Enhance MediaContent Management,” filed on Aug. 29, 2005, incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/715,664 by Bugir, et al., titled “System, Program, Product, andMethods to Enhance Media Content Management,” filed on Sep. 8, 2005,incorporated herein by reference herein in its entirety. U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/305,852, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,250,051, by Bugir et al., titled “System, Program Product, andMethods to Enhance Media Content Management,” filed on Dec. 16, 2005,incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, U.S. Non-Provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 11/305,870, now abandoned, by Bugir et al,titled “System, Program Product, and Methods to Enhance Media ContentManagement,” filed on Dec. 16, 2005, incorporated by reference herein inits entirety, and U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.11/305,873, now abandoned, by Bugir, et al., titled “System, Program,Product, and Methods to Trace Content Genealogy”, filed on Dec. 16,2005, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/305,872, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,693,897, by Bugir, et al., titled “System, Program Product, andMethods to Enhance Media Content Management”, filed on Dec. 16, 2005,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the media industry and, more particularly totracking of content in the media industry, and more specifically,enhanced systems, program products, and methods to manage media content.

2. Description of Related Art

The media industry is experiencing a profound business disruption due tothe change from analog to digital business practices. This, for example,has led to a radical re-evaluation of current media management businessprocesses, particularly in relation to the proliferation of channels,consumer devices, delivery mechanisms and rights management. Technologyhas moved to digital distribution of media which can be readily copiedand distributed.

Authors of content need to protect their intellectual property. Equally,owners of physical property need to protect their rights. For manyyears, content product has relied upon physical media to containcontent. If the media was secure, so were its contents. As contentbecomes digitized, it can be duplicated with minimal effort. Althoughmuch emphasis has been placed upon digital rights management to securecontent, very little emphasis has been placed upon “derived content,”i.e., content that has been repurposed along with other content toproduce new content.

Recently, digital content store systems and metadata store systems havebeen developed which allow some level of control over media content,e.g., songs (music and lyrics), documents, and video. Some of thesesystems also associate metadata with labels unrelated to content andlocation of the content. Such systems, however, often provide controlover content in media by key codes or authorization codes to allowaccess to only paid users or have a preselected time frame forexpiration of rights or have expiration rights upon preselected numberof uses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, advantageously, embodiments of the presentinvention provide systems, program products and methods of contentmanagement such as tracing content genealogy in the media industry(e.g., film, photos, footage, documents, text). Embodiments of thepresent invention can support integrating applications across thedigital supply chain with the common thread of metadata linking businessfunctions with operational mandates, enabling business agility forenhanced productivity in the rapidly changing media landscape, whilesimultaneously lowering total cost of ownership and creating new revenueopportunities. Embodiments of the invention advantageously furtherprovide systems, program product and methods of integrating manydisparate media business processes into a modular system that can movecontent through the broadcast workflow in a consistent and intelligentfashion by interpreting and acting upon the metadata associated with thecontent.

Embodiments of the present invention, for example, can allow tracking ortracing the source of content to its root parentage through a“genetic-type relationship” and thereby ascertain the associated rights,fiscal obligations, and usage with reference to contracts. Embodimentsof the systems, program products, and methods can identify orcharacterize each item of content as having both a physicalinstantiation as well as a logical description, whereby physical contentcan be described by its metadata, and which can have a plurality ofmetadata types, for example: core metadata, applied metadata, andcontextual metadata. Digital formats provide non-linear access tocontent and that such content usually requires editing, compiling anddubbing to produce derived content for repurposing in differentcountries, on different mediums and on different platforms. Thus,advantageously, embodiments of the present invention provide systems,program products, and methods that allow content to trace its familiallineage.

More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a systemto manage content and distribution of media through, for example,tracking and/or tracing of genealogy of content media. For example,according to an embodiment of the present invention a system to managecontent and distribution of media includes a communication network fortransmitting media files and at least one computer accessible to thecommunication network to define a content management server. The contentmanagement server has a processor and memory coupled to the processor tostore operating instructions therein. The system also includes adatabase accessible to the processor of the content management serverincluding media files associated with metadata records such as, forexample, core metadata records, applied metadata records, and contextualmetadata records.

The system can also include a plurality of content management developercomputers each positioned remote from the content management server andaccessible to the communication network. Each content managementdeveloper computer can have a processor, memory coupled to the processorto store operating instructions therein and to receive media files, adisplay in communication with the processor to display metadata, and auser interface in communication with the processor, to provide each of acorresponding plurality of content management developers with onlineaccess over the communication network to the media files and associatedmetadata records to thereby edit metadata rules and rights.

The system can also include a plurality of user computers eachpositioned at a respective plurality of user sites remote from thecontent management server and accessible to the communication networkand having a processor and memory coupled to the processor to storeoperating instructions therein and to receive media files, a display incommunication with the processor to display metadata associated with themedia files, and a user interface in communication with the processor toprovide the respective user with access to the media files over thecommunication network to thereby view and edit at least portions ofrespective metadata records. Such users, often referred to as actors,can include various departments within various entities including, forexample, the programming department, business department, salesdepartment, traffic department, research department, and librarians(content storage department).

The system, for example, can also include content management programproduct stored in the memory of the content management server to managecontent and distribution of media. The content management programproduct can include instructions to perform the operations of receivinga metadata record for a media file responsive to user input to therebyassociate metadata to the media file, receiving a request from a user tomodify the metadata record for the media file, determining an identityof the user to thereby determine if the user has pre-establishedpermissions, modifying the metadata record for the media file responsiveto user input and responsive to determining the user has pre-establishedpermissions, and providing current auditing of changes to the metadata.Advantageously, auditing of changes to the metadata can include trackingmodified metadata fields with a date and time stamp and trackingdeletions of portions of the metadata. The content management programproduct can also include instructions to perform the operation ofproviding a parameter area within the form to create logical contentsettings for the metadata. Where the metadata is logical contentmetadata, the instructions to perform the operation of receiving thelogical content metadata can further include importing the logicalcontent metadata from a delivery-service provider, if desired.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the contentmanagement program product can include instructions to perform theoperation of creating one or more additional copies of the metadatarecord. Performing such operation can include receiving a request toaccess a copy function, providing a copy form including an input fieldfor entering a number of copies, an input field for entering a numberingscheme, e.g., advance each copy by 1 or 0, an input field for enteringmedia attribute data, e.g., a title type for the copy such as episode,movie title, production order, or the field can be left blank. Theoperations can also include displaying the copy values selected by theuser for review or modification by the user, and displaying a selectionof the metadata value categories to copy. Each category value that willbe copied can be displayed as the user selects the category. The copyvalue categories can include core metadata, applied metadata, contextualmetadata, all metadata, relationships, physical, cross-references, andrules and rights, with the core category set as the default copy value.The relationships can include associative relationships, e.g., episodesand sequels, and genetic relationships, e.g., parent-child,grandparent-parent, and “kissing cousins.”

According an embodiment of the present invention, the core value cannotbe deselected as it is established to provide the minimum amount ofmetadata that can be copied. The content management program product canfurther include instructions to perform the operation of restrictingaccess to values within each of value category so that the user canselect all eligible values or no values. This prevents the user frompicking values to copy from within a category. For example, if the userselects a category, according to this embodiment of the presentinvention, all eligible values are displayed for the copy procedure. Theselection however, allows the copying of all eligible or no values fromwithin each category. Further, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, the system does not copy identifying (key) values such as amaterial identification number that makes the record uniquelyidentifiable in the system. This field is copied as a blank and the usermust key the value(s) or create the value for each one of the copiedrecords, separately. Further, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, only eligible values in each selected category can be copied.For example, if the data is an original piece of content and is notbeing derived from one or more parents then there are no existinggenetic relationships that can be copied. According to an embodiment ofthe present invention, ineligible categories visually displayed can bedifferent such as grayed out (inactive) so user cannot select to copythem. Correspondingly, categories such as relationships, physical,cross-references, and rights-rules can be set so they are not able to bechosen to be copied and can be displayed as inactive if they are notrelevant to a particular copy procedure. Further, the user may not beable to copy genetic relationships.

Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention also includemethods to manage content and distribution of media. For example,according to an embodiment of the present invention, a method ofdetermining media content genealogy includes the steps of identifying orcharacterizing each item of content in media as having both a physicalinstantiation and logical description, describing physical content by aplurality of types of metadata, creating new media content responsive tooriginal media content having a predetermined source, and passing onmetadata from the original media content to the new media content. Themetadata of the original media content has, for example, a plurality oftypes of pre-identified metadata. The method can also include trackingcontent of media responsive to each of the plurality of types ofmetadata, determining the source of the original media contentresponsive to tracking of the plurality of types of metadata containedwithin the new media content, and characterizing the types of metadataand preserving metadata types responsive to preselected preservationinstructions. According to another embodiment of the present invention,a method of creating and tracking media content genealogy can includerepurposing content media responsive to a plurality of portions of mediacontent, the content metadata including a plurality of pre-identifiedtypes of metadata, combining content metadata from each of the pluralityof portions of media content, preserving at least one of thepre-identified types of metadata responsive to preselected preservationinstructions during the combining step, and tracking the plurality ofpre-identified types of metadata in the repurposed content to therebyidentify potential rights of owners of the plurality of portions ofmedia content.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method oftracking media content genealogy can include identifying orcharacterizing each item of content in media as having both a physicalinstantiation and logical description, describing physical content by aplurality of types of metadata, and tracking content of media responsiveto each of the plurality of types of metadata.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a methodof creating and determining media content genealogy can include creatingnew media content responsive to original media content having apredetermined source and passing on metadata from the original mediacontent to the new media content. The metadata of the original mediacontent has a plurality of types of pre-identified metadata. The methodcan also include determining the source of the original media contentresponsive to tracking of the plurality of types of metadata containedwithin the new media content.

Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention also include acomputer readable medium to manage content and distribution of media.For example, according to an embodiment of the present invention, acomputer readable medium that is readable by a computer managing contentand distribution of media is provided. The computer readable mediumincludes a set of instructions that, when executed by the computer,cause the computer to perform the operations of receiving a metadatarecord for a media file responsive to user input to thereby associatemetadata to the media file, receiving a request from a user to modifythe metadata record for the media file, determining an identity of theuser to thereby determine if the user has pre-established permissions,modifying the metadata record for the media file responsive to userinput and responsive to determining the user has pre-establishedpermissions, and providing current auditing of changes to the metadata.Providing auditing can further include the operations of trackingmodified metadata fields with a date and time stamp and trackingdeletions of portions of the metadata. Further, the computer readablemedium can include instructions to perform the operation of providing aparameter area within the form to create logical content settings forthemetadata.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the computerreadable medium can also include instructions to perform the operationof creating one or more additional copies of the metadata record.Advantageously, this can be accomplished by performing the operations ofreceiving a request to access a copy function and providing a copy formincluding an input field for entering a number of copies, an input fieldfor entering a numbering scheme, and an input field for entering mediaattribute data. The operations can also include those of displaying thecopy values selected by the user for review or modification by the userand displaying a selection of the metadata value categories to copy.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer readablemedium that is readable by a computer managing content and distributionof media can include a set of instructions that, when executed by thecomputer, cause the computer to perform the operations of characterizingeach item of content in media as having both a physical instantiationand logical description, describing physical content by a plurality oftypes of metadata, characterizing the types of metadata and preservingmetadata types responsive to preselected preservation instruction,creating new media content responsive to original media content having apredetermined source, passing on metadata from the original mediacontent to the new media content, the metadata of the original mediacontent having a plurality of types of pre-identified metadata, trackingcontent of media responsive to each of the plurality of types ofmetadata, and determining the source of the original media contentresponsive to tracking of the plurality of types of metadata containedwithin the new media content.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer readablemedium that is readable by a computer managing content and distributionof media can include a set of instructions that when executed by thecomputer cause the computer to perform the operations of repurposingcontent media responsive to a plurality of portions of media content,the content metadata including a plurality of pre-identified types ofmetadata, combining content metadata from each of the plurality ofportions of media content, preserving at least one of the pre-identifiedtypes of metadata responsive to preselected preservation instructionsduring the combining step, and tracking the plurality of pre-identifiedtypes of metadata in the repurposed content to thereby identifypotential rights of owners of the plurality of portions of mediacontent.

Media and entertainment companies often desire to achieve more acutecontrol over their content in order to protect the intellectual propertyrights of the owner, enable complete and accurate billing for the use ofcontent in commercial applications, deliver to the appropriate consumerappliance, and ensure quality of service. Advantageously, embodiments ofthe present invention can provide a content delivery platform for movingand managing content from the time it is created to the time it isdistributed to multiple consumer devices, which can support workflowefficiency and new service provisioning for broadcasters and contentproviders.

Embodiments of the invention advantageously further provide a deliveryplatform that is a scalable, standards-based, enterprise-class platformthat supports a highly integrated set of software applications. Throughintelligent use of metadata, a delivery platform provides a layer ofintelligence that enables media and entertainment companies toautomatically transfer content with associated business rules forgreater efficiencies, assured transactions and increased profitability.Embodiments of the inventions advantageously further providerevenue-generating services such as mobile video, IPTV, high-definition(HD) television and video-on-demand. Advantageously, embodiments of thepresent invention provide the ability to manage and transport contentfrom ingest (receiving logical or physical content data) to consumptionvia multiple, simultaneous multi-format delivery streams deliveringcontent to different receiving devices such as personal digitalassistants (PDAs), mobile phones and personal computers (PCs).

Multiple and distinct stages in the broadcast workflow exist, includingmedia ingest, play-out automation and transport. Embodiments of theinventions advantageously further can provide for sharing traffic,billing, and program scheduling rules with these applications as contentmoves through the digital media supply chain. Embodiments of the presentinvention support: integration of the current “physical” world of tapesand libraries with digital business; multiple, simultaneous multi-formatdelivery streams; transport of metadata down- and up-stream in theworkflow process; integrated cross-departmental workflows; and dynamicchanges to an active program schedule. Embodiments of the presentinvention can reside on, and interact with, a rich service layer tofacilitate database abstraction, secure routing of content, and mostimportantly, meaningful business transactions. Advantageously, suchservice layers, for example, can include Database Services, WorkflowServices, Platform Services and Open Services. Embodiments of thepresent invention can advantageously support applications such as, forexample, Media Business Systems, Digital Asset Management, Media Ingest,Play-out Automation and Intelligent Transport, allowing an operator'sbusiness to be integrated and scaled across the various hardware systemsthroughout the network, and making it possible for service, software,content and hardware providers to integrate to the system.

For example, a user can enter metadata before or after ingesting thephysical essence. As such, the user can revise and/or add additionalmetadata at any time. Further, a user can enter in one record at a timeand generate copies or clones to save key strokes. Advantageously,security can be pre-established to identify the users that canadd/change/delete/modify logical content (metadata). Advantageously, thesystem can provide current auditing such that as information is changedin the system the fields that change can be tracked with date/timestamps, and as information is deleted from the system there can be atracking of these deletes. Further, a “reference” or “parameter” areacan be provided to create logical content settings, lists, or otherparameters. Logical content (metadata) can be either keyed in orimported from a delivery-service provider. Advantageously, the genericmechanisms for tracking embedded rights in content suggest that it hasapplicability in many industry verticals where rights and associatedfinancial transactions require transactional management.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the features, benefits and advantages of theinvention, as well as others which will become apparent, may beunderstood in more detail, a more particular description of theinvention briefly summarized above may be had by reference to theembodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings,which form a part of this specification. It is to be noted, however,that the drawings illustrate only various embodiments of the inventionand, therefore, are not to be considered limiting of the invention'sscope as it may include other effective embodiments as well.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system to manage content anddistribution of media according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a schematic diagram of an object model describing amechanism to contain logical content and associated metadata accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a schematic diagram of an object model of accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of managing content anddistribution of media according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of managing content anddistribution of media according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of copying metadata according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a component nature of aframework of a system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, a system 20 is provided which generally includesa communication network 25 for transmitting media files or data, acontent management server 22 having a processor and memory 24 coupled tothe processor, a database 80 accessible to the processor of the contentmanagement server 22 and including media files associated with metadatarecords, content management program product stored in the memory 24 ofthe content management server to manage content and distribution ofmedia, and a plurality of content management developer computers andother user computers 26, 28, to provide such users with online accessover the communication network 25. Note, metadata defines data andprovides information about or documentation of other data managed withinan application or environment. Metadata can include descriptiveinformation about the context, quality and condition or characteristicsof the data.

Embodiments of the systems, program products, and methods can identifyor characterize each item of content as having both a physicalinstantiation as well as a logical description. Physical content can bedescribed by its metadata and can have a plurality of metadata types,e.g., three: core metadata, applied metadata, and contextual metadata.Core metadata is considered intrinsic data, generally created by theproducer of the content, with attributes that tend to be static afteringest to the system. Examples of this would be films like, “Gone WithThe Wind” which would likely always have Vivien Leigh as ScarlettO'Hare. Such core will not change no matter how many times the media isedited, modified, or content is repurposed. Applied metadata is variabledata, generated by the rights holder, with attributes that identifyusage and operational data. Examples include the duration and the numberof break cuts that have been edited to create a television movie lengthversion of “Gone With The Wind.” Contextual metadata is usage-specificdata that provides required information for various environments(regulatory, medium, etc.). Examples would be this particular version of“Gone With The Wind” has had its aspect ratio and compression modifiedfor handheld PDA usage and has been edited to comply with regulatoryconditions for cellular usage in Canada.

Based on these distinctions (as well as other possible distinctions),for example Uust like cells pass on their DNA structure), content as itis edited and repurposed, can pass on its metadata of the above forms.Accordingly, core metadata generally should not be allowed to change,applied metadata generally should only be allowed to change if you haverights to do so, and contextual metadata can change based upon businessrequirements and usage, as long as rights are respected. Therefore, asnew content is created, the metadata of the above is passed on fromversion to version.

For example, in the analog world, editing resulted in versions incurringgenerational quality loss, and metadata was just a piece of paper insidethe tape box, usually with some “core metadata” and some operationaldata such as timing and position of breaks, to name a few. In a digitalworld, on the other hand, a mechanism can be created to ensure that allthe metadata is passed along—this is the value of transacting businessdigitally—the content tells how it can be used. If one can automate thatunderstanding, then significant business gains can be made. Also, onecan do more valuable business decision making upstream in the businesscycle, leaving downstream processes to be automated because they havethe information needed.

This example is easily traced or trackable for a single piece of contentthat is being repurposed. There is additional complexity, however, whennew content is made from other content. For example, multiple pieces ofcontent, edited together to form a documentary or another short piece,or a promotion. Advantageously, embodiments of systems, programproducts, and methods of the present invention can allow contentmetadata to be combined to create new metadata, preserve core metadata,and respect the rights of the owners of the individual component piecesof content. Embodiments of systems, program products, and methodsfurther address these issues by creating and determining contentgenealogy. These embodiments provide a combination of metadata “DNA” insuch a way as to ensure that the “child” version, or the resultantcontent has all of the attributes of the parent components. Toaccomplish this, the relationship between two or more pieces of logicalcontent can be tracked, showing metadata lineage—its genealogy, such ascontent predecessor, content successor, and inherited rights/rules usingmetadata.

FIG. 2 illustrates an object model which describes the mechanism tocontain this logical content and associated metadata and itsrelationship to the physical instantiation of a repository of media datareferred to as content. The content includes content title. The contentalso includes core metadata which includes, for example, episode number,industry series id, original play order, contents credits, contentsawards, color attributes, critic information, and original language. Thecore metadata is related to, for example, product information whichincludes film location, music codes, story information, and copyright.The content also includes applied metadata which can include, forexample, delivery schedule description, censorship, expiration date,comments, synopsis, disclaimer, rating information, content genre,content titles, management approval, current language, and duration. Theapplied metadata is related to, for example, active purge controls andusage data. Active purge controls can provide instructions for removingdata permanently without regard to further access of the data. Usagedata is variable data, generated by the rights holder, and hasattributes that identify usage and operational data.

The content can also include content relationship which includes, forexample, rights, rules, fixed metadata, non-contextual metadata,contextual metadata, and relationship type. Note, contextual metadata isusage-specific data that provides required information for variousenvironments (regulatory, medium, etc). It is the metadata that affectsthe ways in which logical content data is used. The content alsoincludes regulatory metadata which can include regulatory approval IDand regulatory approval date and can be found in various regulations fora plurality of countries. The content can also include context which caninclude regulatory environments, mediums, and content types. The contentcan further include content type which can relate to advertisementsincluding advertised brands, and can be related to promotions includingthe promoted entity, promoted program, promoted program run dates,promoted program runtimes, and promoted program run days. The contenttype can also be found in live media and program media which can includea series name. The content can further include presentation medium whichcan include audience rating information, closed caption or subtitle,premier or repeat, and product conflict codes. The content can alsoinclude delivery/related attributes such as cueing times.

FIG. 3 also illustrates an object model, for example. The contentincludes content title. The content also includes core metadata whichincludes, for example, episode number, industry series ID, original playorder, contents credits, contents awards, color attributes, criticinformation, and original language. The core metadata is related to, forexample, product information which includes film location, music codes,story information, and copyright. The content also includes appliedmetadata which can include, for example, delivery schedule description,censorship, expiration date, comments, synopsis, disclaimer, ratinginformation, content genre, content titles, management approval, currentlanguage, and duration. The applied metadata is related to, for example,active purge controls and usage data. The content also includes contentrelationship which includes, for example, rights, rules, fixed metadata,non-contextual metadata, contextual metadata, and relationship type. Thecontent can also include rules which can, for example, include promotingentity rules, adjustable filler rules, mirror eligibility, context,start dates, end dates, start times, end times, delivery entity, runday/activity/pattern, parental rating rules, amortization, exchangerates home currency, archive and purge controls, and royalties. Thecontent can also include rights which can include original owner,current rights holder, disposition of content essence, context, startdates, end dates, end time, run day/activity/pattern, delivery entity,promotion rating delivery guarantees, type of runs, run rights, paymentadjustment information, payment schedule information, country rights,language rights, holds-active/inactive, music rights, options,distributor owner, and financial cost data. Note, essence includes thepart of content that represents the information to be conveyed by thecontent, i.e., the part of content that joins with the physical aspectsto create an object that can be utilized outside of software or programproduct.

The content can also include content grouping, which can include grouptype and group category. The content grouping can provide a mechanismused to group unrelated pieces of logical content together for financialor contractual reasons as well as to facilitate ease of entry,scheduling and tracking. Multiple grouping types can be created and thenrelated to each other in a hierarchical structure. For example: contentgrouping types can include program, series year, and episode grouptypes. The content can also include an edit decision list which caninclude data for providing, combining, and manipulating the “essence”such as, for example, EDL type, original content identifications, playssince last record, cut number, released for air, user bit location,comments, and “is actual” lists. The content can also include scriptline which provide the individual instructions for edit decision listsand which, for example, can include, sequence number, measure type-inmeasure x-value, in measure y-value, in measure z-value, context,segment number, actions, and “in container” instructions, and can relateto “effects” and media container. The media container, e.g., file, tape,or stream, and can include attributes such as, for example, housenumber, barcode, distributor number, physical media form, physical mediainventory originator, physical media owner, physical media details,media return information, media receipt information, physical mediadisposition, comments, media usage, total plays for physical media,physical media inventory information, container directory, containersource name, container source priority, destination priority,copy/timeout, update/timeout, expire/timeout, frame rate, encoding type,video bit rate, audio sample size, container host name, container hostport, container node names, and asset ID. The media container isassociated with a library location (current and home) which provides aplaceholder thereof and which is associated with a library, i.e., roomor server typically having one or more elaborate locations. The librarycan include library name and library usage rules attributes. The librarylocation can include library location identification and barcode RFTvalues attributes and can provide a parent location for the media. Themedia container is associated with a container type and can have aborrower status which can include, for example, a checkout date, a duedate, and comments, which can be associated with a domain.

As shown in FIG. 1, and as identified above, embodiments of the presentinvention can include a system 20 for providing such content management.More specifically, the system 20 can include a communication network 25for transmitting media data and at least one computer accessible to thecommunication network to define a content management server 22. Thecontent management server 22, for example, can have a processor andmemory 24 coupled to the processor to store operating instructionstherein. The system 20 also includes a database 80 accessible to theprocessor of the content management server 22 which can include mediafiles associated with metadata records such as, for example, coremetadata records, applied metadata records, and contextual metadatarecords.

The system 20 can also include a plurality of content managementdeveloper computers 28 each positioned remote from the contentmanagement server 22 and accessible to the communication network 25.Each content management developer computer 28 can have a processor,memory coupled to the processor to store operating instructions thereinand to receive media files, a display in communication with theprocessor to display metadata, and a user interface in communicationwith the processor, to provide each of a corresponding plurality ofcontent management developers with online access over the communicationnetwork 25 to the media files and associated metadata records tothereby, for example, generate code or content, develop and editmetadata rules and rights, establish content relationships, providescript line, define media containers, select a library and/or librarylocation.

The system 20 can also include a plurality of user computers 26 eachpositioned at a respective plurality of user sites remote from thecontent management server 22 and accessible to the communication network25 and having a processor and memory coupled to the processor to storeoperating instructions therein and to receive media files or other mediadata, a display in communication with the processor to display metadataassociated with the media files or data, and a user interface incommunication with the processor to provide the respective user withaccess to the media files over the communication network 25 to therebyview and edit at least portions of respective metadata records. Suchusers, often referred to as actors, can include various departmentswithin various entities including, for example, the programmingdepartment, business department, sales department, traffic department,research department, and librarians (content storage department).

The system 20 can also include content management program product 30stored in the memory of the content management server 22 to managecontent and distribution of media. The content management programproduct 30 can be in the form of microcode, programs, routines, andsymbolic languages that provide a specific set for sets of orderedoperations that control the functioning of the hardware and direct itsoperation, as known and understood by those skilled in the art. Thecontent management program product 30 can include instructions toperform the operations of receiving a metadata record for a media fileresponsive to user input to thereby associate metadata to the mediafile, receiving a request from a user to modify the metadata record forthe media file, determining an identity of the user to thereby determineif the user has pre-established permissions, modifying the metadatarecord for the media file responsive to user input and responsive todetermining the user has pre-established permissions, and providingcurrent auditing of changes to the metadata. Advantageously, auditing ofchanges to the metadata can include tracking modified metadata fieldswith a date and time stamp and tracking deletions of portions of themetadata. The content management program product 30 can also includeinstructions to perform the operation of providing a parameter areawithin the form to create logical content settings for the metadata.Where the metadata is logical content metadata, the instructions toperform the operation of receiving the logical content metadata canfurther include importing the logical content metadata from adelivery-service provider.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the contentmanagement program product 30 can include instructions to perform theoperation of creating one or more additional copies of the metadatarecord. Performing such operation can include receiving a request toaccess a copy function, providing a copy form including an input fieldfor entering a number of copies, an input field for entering a numberingscheme, e.g., advance each copy by 1 or 0, and an input field forentering media attribute data, e.g., a title type for the copy such asepisode, movie title, or production order, or, if desired, the field canbe left blank. The operations can also include displaying the copyvalues selected by the user for review or modification by the user, anddisplaying a selection of the metadata value categories to copy. Eachcategory value that will be copied can be displayed as the user selectsthe category. The copy value categories can include core metadata,applied metadata, contextual metadata, all metadata, relationships,physical, cross-references, and rules and rights, with the core categoryset, for example, as the default copy value. The relationships caninclude associative relationships, e.g., episodes and sequels, andgenetic relationships, e.g., parent-child, grandparent-parent, and“kissing cousins.”

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the core metadatacategory including core values is set such that it cannot be deselected,i.e., the core metadata category can be established to provide theminimum amount of that can/should be copied. The content managementprogram product 30 can further include instructions to perform theoperation of restricting access to values within each of value categoryso that the user can select all eligible values or no values. Thisprevents the user from time picking values to copy from within acategory. For example, if the user selects a category, according to anembodiment of the present invention, all eligible values are displayedfor the copy procedure. The selection however, allows the copying of alleligible or no values from within each category. Further, according tothis embodiment of the present invention, the system 20 is notconfigured to allow copying identifying (key) values such as a materialor media identification number which is utilized to make the recorduniquely identifiable in the system 20. This field is copied as a blankand the user must enter the value(s) or create the value for each one ofthe copied records separately. Further, according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention, only eligible values in eachselected category can be copied. For example, if the data is an originalpiece of content and is not being derived from one or more parents thenthere are no existing genetic relationships that can be copied.According to an embodiment, the system 20 can visually displayineligible categories differently, e.g., grayed out text to indicate aninactive status to indicate to the user that the category or categoriescannot be selected to copy. Correspondingly, categories such asrelationships, physical, cross-references, and rights-rules may or maynot be selectable to be copied and thus, can be displayed as inactive ifthey are not relevant to a particular copy procedure. Further, the usermay not be able to copy the genetic relationships subcategory.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system 20 andprogram product 30 form subcomponents of a .NET framework (FIG. 7) whichcan provide mechanisms for configuring and deploying an application fromsimple client/server to full n-tier distributed systems. Such frameworkcan include distinct “blocks” (or blocks of software code or programproduct). These blocks can include media modules 81, media core 83,staging 85, and framework 87. The media modules 81 have been designed toprovide functionality that can be optionally included. For example, anauditing module utilizes the agent module of the framework to implementauditing for the system. This module could be replaced with a clientspecific version of auditing if desired or not required. The media core83 includes an application coordinator, Windows® UI, UI controls, UIcoordinator, core services-scheduling, core services-content, coreservices-common, and domain modules which can provide various interfacefunctions. The framework staging block 85 includes a user interface (UI)program, a messaging program, an agent program, and a searching programto allow the performance of various staging functions. The framework 87,for example, can be an Enterprise Framework that abstracts thetechnology underpinnings from the business of writing applications,thereby freeing application developers to focus on providing businesssolutions, not building technology to support the applications. Note, amore detailed description of the .Net framework according to variousembodiments of the present invention can be found in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/712,052, by Bugir et al, titled “System,Program Product, and Methods to Enhance Media Content Management,” filedon Aug. 29, 2005, and its corresponding U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 11/305,872 by Bugir et al, titled “System, ProgramProduct, and Methods to Enhance Media Content Management” filed Dec. 16,2005, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, embodiments of the present invention also includemethods to manage content and distribution of media. For example, asshown in FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the present invention, amethod of determining media content genealogy includes the steps ofidentifying or characterizing each item of content in media as havingboth a physical instantiation and logical description (block 51),describing physical content by a plurality of types of metadata (block52), creating new media content responsive to original media contenthaving a predetermined source (block 53), and passing on metadata fromthe original media content to the new media content (block 54), with themetadata of the original media content having, for example, a pluralityof types of pre-identified metadata. The method can also includetracking content of media responsive to each of the plurality of typesof metadata (block 55), and determining the source of the original mediacontent responsive to tracking of the plurality of types of metadatacontained within the new media content (block 56). The method can alsoinclude characterizing the types of metadata and preserving metadatatypes responsive to preselected preservation instructions.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown inFIG. 5, a method of creating and tracking media content genealogy caninclude repurposing content media responsive to a plurality of portionsof media content (block 61), the content metadata including a pluralityof pre-identified types of metadata. The method can also includecombining content metadata from each of the plurality of portions ofmedia content (block 62), preserving at least one of the pre-identifiedtypes of metadata responsive to preselected preservation instructionsduring the combining step (block 63), and tracking the plurality ofpre-identified types of metadata in the repurposed content to therebyidentify potential rights of owners of the plurality of portions ofmedia content (block 64).

As shown in FIG. 6, according to another embodiment of the presentinvention, a method of managing media content can include creating oneor more additional copies of the metadata record once the first one hasbeen created (block 71) to save keystrokes. For example, a user adds andsaves a new logical metadata record for a media file and selects thecopy function. The system opens a copy form (block 72) including aninput field for entering a number of copies, an input field for enteringa numbering scheme, e.g., advance each copy by I or 0, and input fieldfor entering media attribute data, e.g., a title type for the copy suchas episode, movie title, production order, or the field can be leftblank. The user selects a number of copies, e.g., thirteen, andnumbering scheme, such as increment each copy by I or 0, and enters atitle type for the copy such as episode, movie title, production orderor simply leaves it blank (block 73). The system displays the copyingvalues selected or keyed by the user for review or modification by theuser (block 74), and displays a selection of the metadata valuecategories to copy. The user then selects values to copy by appropriatecategories (block 75), and the system displays the category's valuesthat will be copied as the user selects that category (block 76). Thecategories can include core metadata, applied metadata, contextualmetadata, all metadata, relationships, physical, cross-references, andrules and rights, with the core category set as the default copy value.The relationships can include associative relationships, e.g., episodesand sequels, and genetic relationships, e.g., parent-child and “kissingcousins.”

It is important to note that while embodiments of the present inventionhave been described in the context of a fully functional system thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanism of the presentinvention and/or aspects thereof are capable of being distributed in theform of a computer readable medium of instructions in a variety of formsfor execution on a processor, processors, or the like, and that thepresent invention applies equally regardless of the particular type ofsignal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution.Examples of computer readable media include but are not limited to:nonvolatile, hard-coded type media such as read only memories (ROMs) orerasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs),recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD-ROMs,CD-R/RWs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, flash drives, andother newer types of memories, and transmission type media such asdigital and analog communication links. For example, such media caninclude both operating instructions and instructions related to thecontent management program product 30 and much of the method stepsdescribed above.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1-7, embodiments of the present inventionalso include a computer readable medium that is readable by a computerto manage content and distribution of media. For example, according toan embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable medium thatis readable by a computer managing content and distribution of media isprovided. The computer readable medium can include a set of instructionsthat, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform theoperations of receiving a metadata record for a media file responsive touser input to thereby associate metadata to the media file, receiving arequest from a user to modify the metadata record for the media file,determining an identity of the user to thereby determine if the user haspre-established permissions, modifying the metadata record for the mediafile responsive to user input and responsive to determining the user haspre-established permissions, and providing current auditing of changesto the metadata. Providing auditing can further include the operationsof tracking modified metadata fields with a date and time stamp, andtracking deletions of portions of the metadata. Further, the computerreadable medium can include instructions to perform the operation ofproviding a parameter area within the form to create logical contentsettings for the metadata.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the computerreadable medium can also include instructions to perform the operationof creating one or more additional copies of the metadata record.Advantageously, this can be accomplished by performing the operations ofreceiving a request to access a copy function, providing a copy formincluding an input field for entering a number of copies, an input fieldfor entering a numbering scheme, and input field for entering mediaattribute data, displaying the copy values selected by the user forreview or modification by the user, and displaying a selection of themetadata value categories to copy.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer readablemedium that is readable by a computer managing content and distributionof media can include a set of instructions that, when executed by thecomputer, cause the computer to perform the operations of characterizingeach item of content in media as having both a physical instantiationand logical description, describing physical content by a plurality oftypes of metadata, characterizing the types of metadata and preservingmetadata types responsive to preselected preservation instruction,creating new media content responsive to original media content having apredetermined source, and passing on metadata from the original mediacontent to the new media content, with the metadata of the originalmedia content having a plurality of types of pre-identified metadata.The operations can also include tracking content of media responsive toeach of the plurality of types of metadata, and determining the sourceof the original media content responsive to tracking of the plurality oftypes of metadata contained within the new media content.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer readablemedium that is readable by a computer managing content and distributionof media that can include a set of instructions that when executed bythe computer cause the computer to perform the operations of repurposingcontent media responsive to a plurality of portions of media content,the content metadata including a plurality of pre-identified types ofmetadata, combining content metadata from each of the plurality ofportions of media content, preserving at least one of the pre-identifiedtypes of metadata responsive to preselected preservation instructionsduring the combining step, and tracking the plurality of pre-identifiedtypes of metadata in the repurposed content to thereby identifypotential rights of owners of the plurality of portions of mediacontent.

Note this invention and this application relates to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/711,699, by Bugir et al, titled “System,Program Product, and Methods to Enhance Media Content Management,” filedon Aug. 26, 2005, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/715,664 by Bugir, et al., titled“System, Program, Product, and Methods to Enhance Media ContentManagement”, filed on Sep. 8, 2005, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.11/305,870, by Bugir et al, titled “System, Program Product, and Methodsto Enhance Media Content Management,” filed on Dec. 16, 2005,incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, and U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/305,852 by Bugir, et al.,titled “System, Program, Product, and Methods to Trace ContentGenealogy”, filed on Dec. 16, 2005, incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, and U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.11/305,872 by Bugir, et al., titled “System, Program Product, andMethods to Enhance Media Content Management”, filed on Dec. 16, 2005,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed a typicalpreferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms areemployed, the terms are used in a descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation. The invention has been described in considerabledetail with specific reference to these illustrated embodiments. It willbe apparent, however, that various modifications and changes can be madewithin the spirit and scope of the invention as described in theforegoing specification and as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, the following is claimed:
 1. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium that is readable by a computermanaging content and distribution of media, the computer readable mediumcomprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the computer,cause the computer to perform the following operations: receiving ametadata record for a media file responsive to a user input to therebyassociate metadata to the media file; receiving a request from a user tomodify the metadata record for the media file; determining an identityof the user to thereby determine if the user has pre-establishedpermissions to modify the metadata record; modifying the metadata recordfor the media file responsive to user input and responsive todetermining the user has the pre-established permissions; providingcurrent auditing of changes to the metadata; receiving a request toaccess a copy function; providing a copy form including an input fieldfor entering a number of copies, an input field for entering a numberingscheme, and an input field for entering media attribute data; displayinga selection of metadata value categories to copy; and displaying copyvalues from the copy form selected by the user for review ormodification by the user.
 2. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 1, wherein the operation of providing current auditing of changesto the metadata further comprises: tracking modified metadata fieldswith a date and time stamp; and tracking deletions of portions of themetadata.
 3. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1, furthercomprising restricting access to values within the metadata valuecategories so that the user can select all eligible values or no values.4. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 3, whereinineligible metadata value categories are displayed with an inactivestatus to indicate that the ineligible metadata value categories cannotbe selected.
 5. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,wherein the metadata value categories include core metadata, appliedmetadata, contextual metadata, all metadata, relationships, physical,cross-references, and rules and rights.
 6. The computer-readable mediumas defined in claim 5, wherein the relationships comprise geneticrelationships that include a parent-child relationship, a siblingrelationship or a grandparent-grandchild relationship.
 7. Thecomputer-readable medium as defined in claim 5, wherein therelationships are associative relationships that include episodes and/orsequels.
 8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein themetadata comprises logical content metadata, and where the mediumfurther comprises instructions to perform the following operation:providing a parameter area within a form to create logical contentsettings for the metadata.
 9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8,further comprising instructions to perform the following operation:importing the logical content metadata from a delivery-service provider.10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprisinginstructions to perform the following operations: repurposing contentmedia, corresponding to at least one media file, responsive to aplurality of portions of media content, the repurposed content mediaincluding a plurality of pre-identified types of the metadata; combiningcontent metadata from each of the plurality of portions of mediacontent; preserving at least one of the plurality of pre-identifiedtypes of metadata responsive to preselected preservation instructionsduring the combining operation; and tracking the plurality ofpre-identified types of metadata in the repurposed content media tothereby identify potential rights of owners of the plurality of portionsof media content.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that isreadable by a computer for managing content and distribution of media,the readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, when executedby the computer, cause the computer to perform the following operations:repurposing content media responsive to a plurality of portions of mediacontent, the repurposed content media including a plurality ofpre-identified types of metadata; combining content metadata from eachof the plurality of portions of media content; preserving at least oneof the plurality of pre-identified types of metadata responsive topreselected preservation instructions during the combining operation;tracking the plurality of pre-identified types of metadata in therepurposed content media to thereby identify potential rights of ownersof the plurality of portions of media content; and creating one or moreadditional copies of a metadata record for a media file by performingthe following operations: receiving a request to access a copy function;providing a copy form including an input field for entering a number ofcopies, an input field for entering a number scheme, and an input fieldfor entering media attribute data; displaying a selection of metadatavalue categories to copy; and displaying the copy values selected by theuser for review or modification by the user.
 12. The computer-readablemedium as defined in claim 11, further comprising instructions toperform the following operation: providing a parameter area within aform to create logical content settings for the content metadata. 13.The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 11, further comprisinginstructions to perform the operation of providing auditing of changesto the content metadata by performing the following operations: trackingmodified metadata fields with a date and time stamp; and trackingdeletions of portions of the content metadata.
 14. The computer-readablemedium as defined in claim 11, further comprising instructions toperform the operation of restricting access to values within themetadata value categories so that the user can select all eligiblevalues or no values.
 15. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 14, wherein ineligible metadata value categories are displayedwith an inactive status to indicate that the ineligible metadata valuecategories cannot be selected.
 16. The computer-readable medium asdefined in claim 15, wherein the metadata value categories include coremetadata, applied metadata, contextual metadata, all metadata,relationships, physical, cross-references, and rules and rights.
 17. Thecomputer-readable medium as defined in claim 16, wherein therelationships are genetic relationships that include a parent-childrelationship, a sibling relationship or a grandparent-grandchildrelationship.
 18. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 11,further comprising instructions to perform the following operations:receiving a metadata record for the media content responsive to a userinput to thereby associate metadata to the media content; receiving arequest from a user to modify the metadata record for the media content;determining an identity of the user to thereby determine if the user haspre-established permissions to modify the metadata record; modifying themetadata record for the media file responsive to user input andresponsive to determining the user has the pre-established permissions;and providing current auditing of changes to the metadata.
 19. Thecomputer-readable medium as defined in claim 18, wherein the operationof providing current auditing of changes to the metadata furthercomprises: tracking modified metadata fields with a date and time stamp;and tracking deletions of portions of the metadata.